Tech. Rock. Pop. Truthiness.

I’ve struggled this year finding favorite albums. Sure, there were good ones. The one I listened to most consistently since its release has been Monsters of Folk. But even there, the second half doesn’t live up to the promise of the first half.

I’ve always been an album kind of gal. But, as times change so must I. It even seems like artists, including “indie” ones, aren’t bothering with the album as an art form any longer. The exceptions may be The Flaming Lips’s Embryonic and Julian Casablancas’s Phrazes for the Young, both of which contain strict rules on sound and instrumentation. That’s good and bad. Albums can be consistent in more than just sound…there’s many ways for an album to mesh together into a coherent piece of work. Just look at two more great albums this year, Dark Was the Night and Dark Night of the Soul (no they aren’t the same thing or even connected). These collections of various artists all sound like they belong together, even though they don’t sound the same. They just feel the same.

So, with that said, I welcome you to my favorite tracks of 2009, in some kind of order. (Most links will open the Google audio player in a new tab.)

Another John Doe – thenewno2: Actually this came out in 2008 or something on MySpace or in France or something, but it wasn’t officially released until this year.

Kristin Wiig

There Will Be Blood

All of Radiohead’s output

Buying stuff

I spent way too much money this decade, which tied in nicely to making money for the first time in my life. However, I over spent, got into deepish credit card debt, but paid it all off within two years of making that goal. Now I’m buying a house, and I’m pretty damn proud of myself.

Wii

For some reason, the CSS on this WordPress Theme gets screwed up if I embed any more videos, so I’ll just list my faves.

Grand Slam Tennis

Beatles Rock Band (duh)

Guitar Hero World Tour

Wii Fit

EA Active

Mario Kart

iMac

Lots of great shows

The Guthrie

Friends

I’ve gained many, and they are irreplaceable. Thank you for making this decade my favorite so far!